Kingdom Hearts Ends With You
by LovingAnime97
Summary: To say that the events of the newest Keyblade War were shell-shocking would be the understatement of the year. Or, rather, of the decade, for those who had suffered the one before. So, naturally, when all was said and done, one would expect that everybody would get to live 'happily ever after', right? Well, not quite... POST-KH3, Kingdom Hearts x The World Ends With You!
1. Chapter 1

To say that the events of the newest Keyblade War were shell-shocking would be the understatement of the year.

Or, rather, of the decade, for those who had suffered the one before.

So, naturally, when all was said and done, one would expect that everybody would get to live 'happily ever after', right?

Well, not quite...

"...Riku?"

"What is it, Sora?"

"How did we end up here?"

"I... I don't know..."

And to say that the events currently transpiring were confusing and surprising, would be even more so of an understatement.

After the Keyblade War and the great fight against Master Xehanort and the 13 Vessels of Darkness, Sora had decided that a trip to Shibuya had been in order. Riku and Kairi, unable to say no, had promptly given in, deciding that they did deserve a break.

They had all arrived at Shibuya station early that same morning, the sun shining brightly and music blaring from every corner; as to be expected from Japan's No.1 area of music and fashion. Although, only moments upon arriving the three were suddenly knocked unconscious, collapsing in a heap amongst the crowd who continued to push past as if nothing was wrong.

And then Riku had been the first to wake up.

The first thing he noticed was that Kairi was gone. That in itself was a big worry - being a Princess of Heart, she was a big bonus to anybody who was planning to do anything related to the worlds. He and Sora had sworn to protect her, ever since the Keyblade War, but right now, apparently, they had failed in doing at least that much.

Without delay he had woken Sora up, the brunette having protested before allowing his eyelids to flicker open, the sunlight affecting him as he winced before sitting up. He, too, had been as confused as the silverette had, casting a glance around before shifting his eyes to the older boy. He had jumped up, surprising Riku a small bit - everything Sora did surprised him, not that he would admit it aloud - and began to scan the place.

And then, that particular conversation had started.

They both looked around, the groups of people passing through them not going unnoticed, given the time of day. It was still early, hundreds of people heading to work, school or going on errands, but the two Keyblade Wielders were too preoccupied trying to figure out what was going on to think about why they were originally here. They had first realised that they could not be seen, heard or felt by anybody once the lights of the Square had turned green, people coming toward them at all directions and paying them no heed, simply passing through them with blank expressions on their faces.

"Ngh...!"

Riku gritted his teeth and let out a small noise of pain, the palm of his hand burning, almost as if it was on fire - the pain only lasted for a moment, but it had been there. At the same moment, the phone in his jeans pocket had rung, and the same seemed to have happened to Sora, who let his pain be audibly known a bit louder than the silverette. Glancing at each other and then at their palms, the ticking clocks ringing alarm bells in their heads.

"This is..."

Riku began, his eyebrows scrunching together as he registered what it meant, recalling what a particular somebody had told him over a year ago now,

"It couldn't be..."

"Hey, Riku!"

His head instantly snapped over to Sora, who had taken his own phone from his pocket, his eyes scanning over the text message he had received,

"What do you think this means?"

Confused by Sora's words he headed on over, glancing over the bruenette's spiky head of hair at the text plainly written on his mobile;

"It... looks like an equation..."

He spoke slowly, his mind already doing the calculations to figure it out,

"'(85 + 45) divided by 10'...?"

Riku raised an eyebrow in question as Sora glanced up at him, his aquamarine eyes clearly showing the same confusion Riku felt;

What was going on..?

"...Sora,"

The silverette finally spoke up, his eyes narrowing slightly in suspicion,

"Isn't the answer to that question '13'?"

Both boys fell into silence, but one thought lingered in both of their minds - they knew they had each come to the same conclusion on what that meant, but they didn't think it possible; but perhaps...

"Oh!"

Sora's sudden exclamation had Riku glancing over at him, his turquoise orbs staring into the brunette's aquamarine. Sora's eyes were bright, an idea obviously having formed in his mind, and if Riku was to say, it was as if he could see the clogs and gears working in his mind as he figured out what to do next.

"I know! We should go find Neku and Joshua and the others! Maybe they can help!"

The thought of the ashen-haired boy reminded Riku of their destination and the original reason of why they had come - Sora had insisted they pay Neku Sakuraba and the others a visit, since they were the closest to them in terms of the different people and other worlds they had met and visited.

"And where did you say we'd meet them?"

Riku finally asked, brushing a hand through his hair and remembering just how short it was - he had cut it before the Mark of Mastery exam, and had been keeping it that length since, but he still forgot, sometimes,

"You did talk to him over the phone, right?"

"Of course I did!"

Sora replied, looking wounded and somehow offended,

"They told us to meet them at the- uhm..."

He stopped, and Riku could tell he was wracking his brain for answers as his eyebrows furrowed and he crossed his arms at his chest in contemplation,

"I think it was called WildKat Café... or something like that..."

Riku sighed, placing a hand to his forehead before glancing around once more, trying to spot any of the people he was looking for - he would recognise them, from his time in the Dream World, he hoped, if they hadn't changed too dramatically since then...

"Did they mention where it was?"

He asked, looking back to Sora,

"A street or anything?"

"Hmm..."

The brunette tilted his head to the side as he thought, the spikes on his head bouncing with the movement,

"Oh! Neku said it was on Cat Street!"

"Cat Street...?"

The name was unfamiliar to Riku - then again, so was Shibuya, or anywhere besides their island and the main land near it - but the signs scattered around the Scramble did help.

"Come on, Sora,"

He urged, somehow pretty sure of where he was going, despite never having been to Shibuya before,

"This way."

Sora's confusion was clearly visible on his face as he blinked before nodding his head slowly, running to catch up to Riku and clasping the silverette's right hand in his own left one, grinning brightly.

* * *

The trip to Cat Street was long and loud, the sounds and such of the other people not going unheard to Sora and Riku, even if they did to everybody else. They didn't have to worry about getting stuck in the crowds, passing through people like air, but the older boy could tell that the younger one was worried and somewhat nervous, if he was perceiving him correctly;

It was to be expected - after all, neither had ever been to Shibuya before, and being put into such a situation where one of their party members was currently missing and the others were being _walked through,_ it was no laughing matter.

Sora stumbled his way through streets and alleyways while Riku walked with nothing short of the grace the brunette always found he possessed, his hair framing his face perfectly and his fringe not distracting from his line of sight. They walked through the Scramble Crossing, past Shibu Department Store, to the furthest part of Cadoi City and through Towa Records, the loud, up-to-date music pounding loudly in their ears. They were both glad to escape the area, visibly sighing as they proceeded through the Miyashita Park Underpass and Miyashita Park itself, eventually ending up in Cat Street.

"I see you finally arrived, Sora, Riku."

The familiar voice had the two turning to its' source, the familiar ashen hair registering in both of their minds, albeit one slower than the other.

"Joshua!"

The boy had not changed in the year or so since they had seen him, the playful smile on his lips having remained the same in every sense.

"Why hello there,"

He chuckled, the sound still like the giggle they both recalled hearing during their Mark of Mastery exam,

"I'm glad you both made it. Now, why don't you two come inside? I can explain everything there."

* * *

The inside of WildKat Café was much different to what Riku and Sora had been expecting - like the rest of Shibuya, it screamed colour and fashion, but the music was not as loud and there were less people than anticipated.

"Yo, Phones, I told you to give us an explanation, man!"

"And I told you to calm down!"

"B-Beat, Neku, please don't fight..!"

Three familiar voices were the first to hit the duo's ears, and they both smiled at that - at least they wouldn't be completely stuck with strangers.

Beat was the first one to notice the duo - or Riku, at least - as he instantly jumped up from his seat and grinned brightly.

"Yo!"

He exclaimed, grinning brightly,

"Didn't expect to see you here, man!"

"Yeah, well,"

Riku shrugged, glancing to his side and then back at the blonde punk,

"We didn't really expect to be here, either."

Joshua's chuckle/giggle echoed throughout the café at that, the other two occupants soon standing up from their seats too.

"Sora, Riku, it's so good to see you again!"

Rhyme smiled, bright as always, while Neku simply mumbled words of greeting to Sora, glancing curiously and warily at the silverette.

"It's good to see you too, Rhyme, Neku!"

Sora grinned,

"I'm glad you all got back home safely!"

"Yo, man, who's he?"

Beat certainly wasn't afraid to ask questions, no matter how offensive they may be, which made Riku chuckle while Sora introduced himself.

"I'm Sora!"

"Ah, so he's the guy you was lookin' for that time!"

The blonde's voice was loud and deep as the gears in his mind reeled, although slowly, and came to this conclusion,

"Good for you, man!"

Riku didn't say anything at that, his lips forming a straight line as he glanced over at Joshua. The other teen was leaning against one of the walls of the café, simply watching the meeting unfold.

"Are you going to tell us what's going on?"

He asked, once more glancing at the flashing red digits on his palm,

"How much can you explain in the next fifty-eight minutes or less?"

* * *

_Ta-daaaaaa~_

_First chapter uploaded! _

_It's more of a tester chapter, as I wanna see what you guys think before I continue! Hopefully you'll be interested...?_

_Anyway, reviews are always kindly appreciated!_


	2. Chapter 2

The six had seated themselves in the WildKat café, carefully going over what they could in roughly half the time they had left; they didn't want to go through the hour they had, seeing as the two still had a Mission to complete. Between talking about the Game, the RG, UG, Reapers and Missions, among other things, it was quite overwhelming - more so for Sora than Riku, which was to be expected.

"So, Joshua, you're the Composer of this... Game?"

Riku's question was expected by all, and he could tell by their facial expressions. Joshua merely giggled, nodding slightly as a small smirk graced his lips.

"That's right,"

He spoke,

"Although, I'm not the Composer of this particular Game - I've been put aside, so right now, I'm actually a Player, just like the rest of you. Normally, that's not allowed, but there can be certain... special circumstances."

He took out a pin that had been resting in his chest pocket, one Sora and Riku had never seen before - black, with a white skull graffiti design...

"You should both have one too,"

He went on, glancing between the two,

"Check your pockets."

Both did so, placing the Pins on the table as soon as they picked them out of their pockets. Riku had been careful, while Sora had let out a short exclamation of pain, having pricked his finger on the safety pin on the back.

"Those Pins represent the fact that you are Players in the Game,"

Neku was the one to speak now, slightly monotone,

"They give you the ability to Scan the area for Noise, and let you read people's thoughts for implantation."

Both Keyblade Wielders nodded at the last of the information, glancing at each other.

"And what about Kairi?"

Sora finally asked, sounding desperate to know where she was - heck, Riku was too, in all honesty,

"Where is she?"

"I would imagine she was the Entry Fee for you two to get here; the most important thing to you both would be your friendship with her,"

Joshua sighed, brushing a hand through his ashen locks,

"And the only way you can bring her and the two of you back to life is if you win the Game."

Riku sighed once more, placing a hand to his forehead while Sora groaned, placing his face on the table with his arms outstretched in front of him. Both had thought their lives would become easier now that the War was over, but apparently not...

"So if we survive the week and defeat the GM, we can get Kairi and go back to the RG?"

"Exactly."

All fell into silence, another figure entering the café through the back entrance. All heads turned to see, four smiles immediately appearing, despite the severity of the conversation.

"Yo, Coffee Man!"

Beat exclaimed, raising a hand in greeting to the Producer of the Reapers' Game, also known as the owner of the WildKat Café,

"We was waitin' for you t' arrive, man!"

"Sorry for the wait, kiddos."

The man replied in turn, his black hair slicked up into its' usual hairstyle, almost like a mohawk, his eyes catching the sight of Riku and Sora.

"New Players?"

He chuckled, glancing between the two and then at the ashen blonde,

"This could be getting interesting, huh, J?"

The Composer merely giggled at that, placing a hand to his lips as he did every time he giggled, not saying a word.

"Nekuuuuuuuuu!"

A voice from outside had everybody jumping to attention, most hopping out of the seats they had been occupying. A girl, with black hair and glasses, sporting a green jumper and black, knee-length skirt came dashing in the door to the café, a familiar Mr. Mew plush in her arms.

"Shiki!"

Neku was the first to react,

"What's wrong?"

"Shiki?"

Riku and Sora both asked, sharing a knowing glance; that was _not _the Shiki they had met in Traverse Town a year ago...

"It's..."

She began, gasping for breath, a girl who Riku and Sora would have mistaken to be Shiki in tow,

"It's the Noise! They're coming! And..."

"And?"

Neku urged, heading on over to the door where the two were catching their breath, placing his hands on the ravenette's shoulders and forcing her to look up at him,

"And what, Shiki? Eri? _What happened?_"

"The boy we found... the other boy in the Game, he... he's out there, trying to fight by himself! And he hasn't made a Pact with anyone yet!"

Eri had been the one to speak, both of them obviously shaken, her voice slightly squeaky and loud - however, it was the voice Sora and Riku were so familiar with.

"What?!"

Neku had visibly paled at that, but then again, so had the others - fighting against the Noise by yourself was suicide, let alone fighting them without making a Pact; one's attacks were useless unless you had a Partner, after all.

"Show us where he is, Shiki."

"But Neku, the Noise-"

_"Now."_

* * *

Riku and Sora had been too caught up in the discussion and processing the information from earlier to really pay attention to where they were running, although Riku had a bit more of an idea, having processed a bit more already. He was curious about this other boy, and he could tell the others were too, but this was no time for curiosity.

Noise were scattered everywhere, sure; Riku and Sora had noticed it on their way to WildKat, but they had ignored them - and the Noise had ignored the two Keyblade Wielders, too, for the most part.

But now, on their way to where this supposed other boy was, they were being tossed left and right by frogs, bears, even eagles and other creatures as they tried to get to their destination.

_"Work for you?"_

_"What do you think?"_

Neku and Joshua had become Partners, they had explained back at the café, their Unison Attack destroying all Noise in their way, to an extent. Beat and Rhyme had joined up, while Eri and Shiki had, too. Sora and Riku were going to partner up, but had been warned not to, and Joshua had the explanation as to why.

_"This equation tells who you need to partner up with,"_

_He had explained, the café quiet and serious,_

_"I've heard of some GMs partnering up specific people before, but I've never seen it done. Sora obviously needs to partner up with somebody regarding the number 13. Riku, on the other hand..."_

_"Somebody with the number 8."_

_The silverette had interrupted; he had checked his phone not long after arriving in the café, his equation's solution being 8,_

_"Whoever that is."_

_"If you don't do as the Mission specifies,"_

_Joshua's voice had become dark and wary, warning,_

_"Then you'll be Erased by the Reapers - it's as simple as that."_

So looking out for 8 and 13 was what they were currently doing, with little time they had left - 28 minutes, and counting - and they finally arrived at the scene of the fight at Molco; a series of department stores with graffiti galore.

To say Riku and Sora were stunned at who they saw there would be an understatement.

"Roxas?"

The two couldn't believe their eyes, yet they had no choice - there he stood, the blonde Nobody, Oathkeeper and Oblivion in hand. He was breathing heavily, teeth gritted, his hands gripping the Keyblades to the point where his knuckles were white due to frustration.

"Sora? Riku?"

He was obviously as surprised as they were, put off-guard for a moment - but that was all the time the Noise needed, instantly striking and knocking the ex-Organisation member off of his feet, flying toward the group who had come for him. With a yell of surprise he fell, his eyes closed shut due to the impact. He gasped, the wind blown out of him for a moment, before struggling to sit up, shaking his head slightly with a groan.

"Roxas!"

Sora immediately dashed toward him, paying no heed to the Noise, his body on autopilot,

"Roxas! Are you okay?"

"I... I'm fine..."

The Nobody didn't seem very sure, his Keyblades at varying distances, neither within reach,

"I think..."

The brunette sighed with relief, placing a hand to his chest for a moment before extending it for Roxas to take. He did so, standing up somewhat unsteadily before finding his balance.

_"Yo, man, take this!"_

_"We'll show you the power of family!"_

Beat and Rhyme had activated their Unison Attack next, the bright light and waves of water piercing through various different Noise, but not all. The others floated closer and closer, closing in on the Nobody and Somebody.

"My attacks aren't working,"

Roxas hissed, brushing a hand through his locks,

"What do we do?"

It only took that one moment for Sora to spot the red engraving on his Nobody's hand; the time counting down, but also something else...

The number 13...?

"Roxas, form a Pact with me!"

The Nobody blinked at his other, confusion clearly showing on his face as he glanced at the hand extended to him. He briefly looked over at the ever-approaching Noise, nodding his head and taking Sora's hand once more.

If either were to describe it, they wouldn't really be able to - it was as if they were floating, free from all of the heavy burdens they carried, their energy and health fully restored. The feeling soon passed, but they felt better than ever.

"Ready?"

The dark tone Roxas's voice held made Sora shiver slightly, but he nodded nonetheless. Both summoned their Keyblades, which shone in the bright light of the afternoon, preparing themselves in their battle stances.

"Ready!"


	3. Chapter 3

With their Pact formed, the two Keyblade Wielders' attacks were hitting Noise left and right, the creatures disappearing as quickly as they had appeared.

With Riku currently lacking a partner he was defenseless, his Keyblade passing through the Noise as if they were made of air. Sora couldn't help but be surprised - his best friend, who he had thought could overcome anything, was being pushed around by the Noise!

"We don't have time for this!"

Roxas finally snapped, whacking Oathkeeper against another Noise and making it vanish in a puff of smoke,

"We have to find-"

"Roxas!"

Silence seemed to fill the area, along with more Noise, piercing green eyes and flashy red hair filling everyone's vision as they looked over at the source of the sound. Sora winced, as if feeling a tug in his chest - from his heart...

"Axel!"

Riku seemed to react to the name when Roxas had called it out, instantly turning to meet the eyes of the red-head, who was holding a chakram in one hand and his Keyblade in the other.

"Roxas, the Keyblade isn't working on them! I can't- nngh!"

The red-head was suddenly knocked down, Riku the closest one to react. He dashed toward him, managing to catch his shoulders and keep him upright as the Noise, which had hit him, made a few sounds of anger and looked ready for more fighting.

He brushed off Riku's hands, a small sigh coming from his lips as he swept a hand through his hair;

That was all the time Riku needed to spot the glowing timer on his hand, an exact mirror of his own, but also, the small other engraving right underneath it...

"Eight..."

Axel - or Lea, as he preferred - flinched at the word, nodding his head slightly;

"I used to be No. VIII in the Organisation... before everything happened..."

More Noise were beginning to gather, and while Riku and Axel could do nothing on their own...

"...Make a Pact with me."

Axel blinked, swapping his stare between the hand being held out to him and the person extending it, hesitation and confusion clear in his eyes.

"It's the only way we can help beat the Noise,"

Riku further prodded,

"So come on."

He still hesitated but took the hand being offered, the same light that had engulfed Sora and Roxas claiming the two. By the time they were visible again, they looked more prepared for battle - looked more confident, if anything - slashing Noise left and right.

Eventually, all that was left were the Keyblade Wielders and the other competitors in the Reapers' Game, the dust from the Noise scattering in the light breeze that had picked up.

* * *

"So, somebody gonna explain what exactly's goin' on?"

Lea had been the one to speak, rubbing the back of his head and glancing over at Mr. Hanekoma doubtfully; not much time had passed between defeating the Noise and getting back to the café, introductions over and done with.

The explanations were still in order, though. It took about a half hour to explain everything to the ex-Organisation members, but when all was said and done, everybody felt rather content with what they knew.

"So... 'Partners', huh..."

Roxas pondered the word, his head resting on one palm while the other hand traced circles on the table they were currently seated at, his deep blue eyes glancing between the table and his Partner,

"How ironic..."

Sora visibly winced at the comment - even if it had been said in passing, he hadn't meant for Roxas to suffer so much, especially on his part...

"Putting that aside for now,"

Riku spoke sharply, narrowing his eyes at the blonde before glancing at the others at the table,

"What do we do about this Game?"

"Why, we win, of course,"

Joshua spoke up for the first time since they had entered the café, his chin resting idly on one palm as he giggled, a smirk lifting his lips,

"What other option do we have?"

Nobody spoke in retaliation to that - after all, they had no other options.

"Well, in any case,"

Mr. Hanekoma chuckled, placing a cup of coffee at everybody's seat,

"Today's Mission is over, right, kiddos? You all found your Partners, so let's wait and see what tomorrow brings, huh?"

* * *

"...I'm sure this wasn't what you meant when you said 'see what tomorrow brings', Mr. Hanekoma..."

"It happens to all the Players when they're in the Game - have fun!"

"Oi, Coffee Man! Don' go runnin' off on us!"

"Got a business to run, kiddos~"

"..."

Roxas huffed, crossing his arms at his chest while Axel chuckled, patting his head lightly in amusement;

"Guess that Mr. Hanekoma can be quite a slippery guy, huh?"

Joshua giggled at that, glancing back at where the shop owner had run off, leaving the bunch at the Shibuya Crossing while he headed back to Cat Street,

"You have no idea, Lea."

The group had woken up in the Shibuya Crossing, unaware of having ever fallen asleep, Mr. Hanekoma looming over them with what they thought was curiosity and entertainment in his eyes. He hadn't said a word for a few moments, simply stuffed his hands into his pockets, a grin on his face, and then;

"Mornin', kiddos!"

And now he was gone, leaving the others to glance between each other and wonder what to do next;

A vibrating sound from each of them, some from phones they all knew they didn't possess, before they all checked for the text they had each received.

"Defeat the Alterna Wolf Noise scattered around Shibuya in 360 minutes - fail, and face Erasure."

Riku raised an eyebrow, glancing to Sora and then to Lea; both shrugged, but Joshua seemed to be in on some sort of secret joke as he giggled, the sound familiar to everybody else by now.

"It seems our Mission today is quite direct,"

His eyes glittered with amusement and trickery as he tucked his orange mobile back into his pocket,

"Let's get going, shall we? We've got a lot to do today."

* * *

One might think that 6 hours to do something as simple as defeating Noise would be way too much time - especially with the amount of Keyblade Wielders.

But, one would be proven wrong - with the size of Shibuya, defeating Noise might have been quick, but numbers were large and the amount of space to cover was the same - it would take a while.

At least, so Riku figured as they finished with the Noise in the Station Underpass, a flicker of pain passing through the Timers engraved on everyone's' hands telling them of their slight success.

However, they still had the rest of Shibuya to cover - they had started from one area and decided to go around the place in a certain order, splitting up into their Partnered groups - it would be quicker and more efficient that way.

Riku had been surprised to see that Lea could handle a Keyblade so well - although, having helped in the Keyblade War, he really shouldn't have been as surprised as he was.

"Well, I guess we should get moving,"

He shrugged, allowing Way to the Dawn to disappear in a flash of light,

"Still got a lot of ground to cover."

"Gotcha,"

Lea nodded, his own Keyblade and chakram vanishing as he trudged to the silverette's side,

"Think the others are doing okay?"

"Of course they are - we'd know if they weren't."

Riku hadn't hesitated in answering, which Lea took to be a sign of complete and utter trust in the others - well, in Sora, at least - and chuckled, scratching the back of his head;

"Guess you're right."

* * *

"...You seem troubled, Roxas - you okay?"

"..."

"Roxas?"

"Huh? Oh... Sorry. What were you saying?"

Sora raised an eyebrow in question and concern before sighing, batting away another Noise in an upward arc before repeating his question;

"I said, 'are you okay?' You've been spacing out a lot..."

"I, uhh, yeah, I'm okay.. I guess..."

"Still trying to get used to having your own body, huh?"

Sora chuckled, tossing aside another Noise; he had expected as much, his suspicions confirmed as the blonde tossed a curt nod his way before shooting strong Magic as his own share of Noise - it was good that Roxas was no longer a Nobody, a person without a Heart - in his opinion, anyway.

Nobody should ever have to live a life like Roxas had; Sora wouldn't wish it on his worst enemy.

"It's strange,"

Sora perked up as Roxas began to speak, a small smile twitching at the blonde's lips,

"I thought I'd be with you forever - but since that's no longer the case, I... I'm still trying to get my head around it."

"You'll get used to it eventually, Roxas - I'm happy for you, you know."

"Yeah... thanks, Sora."


	4. Chapter 4

Half of the Noise had been defeated earlier than planned, but when the group met up again, they all noted that Joshua did not seem pleased.

Riku and Sora both shared a glance, and the silverette raised an eyebrow before asking,

"What's up, Joshua?"

Neku frowned, pressing his headphones against his ears for a moment before replying, fiddling with his fringe,

"We... had an encounter with some of the Reapers."

Silence intruded upon the group as nobody said a word, moved an inch;

They knew of the Reapers from the earlier discussions, and to have met them on Day 2;

Well, it meant bad things.

"The Reapers don't usually intrude until Day 3 or 4,"

Joshua spoke up, his tone cold and serious, his eyes the same,

"So that could mean that either they stumbled upon us by accident, or this Game is more serious than we thought."

"Them Reapers s' bad news, man,"

Beat sighed, scratching the back of his neck,

"Take it from me, s' personal experience."

Riku raised an eyebrow in question but let it be, glancing over at Roxas and Ax- Lea, who seemed to be wondering about it, too.

"Getting back to the situation at hand,"

Joshua interrupted, catching everybody's attention in the serious atmosphere,

"The Reapers had a girl with them - the one I believe you know as Kairi."

Everyone stiffened at that, especially the four who knew her - they really did have Kairi, after all...

"They admitted that she is your fee for entering the Game,"

He went on, fiddling with a few strands of his hair,

"But also that, since she is such, it'll take a lot for you to win; she's special, after all."

"So, if Kairi was our entry fee,"

The silverette interrupted, all eyes turning to him as he placed his chin on his palm, elbow on the table,

"Then how did Roxas and Lea get here?"

All eyes loomed over to the aforementioned Roxas and Lea before flying back to Joshua, a small, knowing smile on his lips which sent a shiver down everybody's skin,

"Why, they would have an Entry Fee too, of course,"

He giggled, although it was somewhat serious, rather than light-hearted; as it ought to be, of course,

"Whatever they both hold most dear - that is how the Entry Fee is chosen."

Nobody seemed to know, until the blonde and red-head shared a somewhat knowing gaze, their eyes wide, the gears in their heads churning;

"You know what it is?"

Sora asked, leaning over in his seat to get closer to the two, his azure eyes staring at them both in turn,

"What? What is it?"

Neither said a word, a somewhat confused look in both of their eyes and on their faces as they glanced at each other, and then at the rest of the group.

"I'm not sure what exactly it is, but..."

Roxas began, his eyebrows scrunching together,

"There's this memory that keeps flashing back, but... it's all hazy..."

"Yeah,"

Lea agreed, nodding his head and scrunching his own eyebrows,

"Like it's not really there, but..."

"'But'?"

Joshua questioned, and it seemed to be on everybody else's minds, too, before the two spoke in unison,

"Xion."

* * *

"Xion? Who's Xion?"

Sora leaned in even closer, eyes bright with confusion, his eyebrows raised,

"Neither of you have ever mentioned her before."

Silence fell upon the group once more, nobody really able to speak on the matter.

"Heh heh..."

Joshua's giggle had everybody turn to him, his amethyst eyes lit with amusement and entertainment, one of his hands on his cheek as he placed his elbow on the table, his legs crossed where he sat,

"This is going to be interesting, isn't it, Neku?"

Said boy rolled his eyes, fiddling with the headphones around his neck, a frown on his lips;

"Maybe for you, Josh, but not for the rest of us - and what about that other girl?"

"Other girl?"

All voices echoed in synch - this was taking another turnabout; what other girl?

"Yeah,"

Neku nodded, glancing over at the front door to the café, as if expecting somebody to come in at any moment,

"Some blonde girl - never seen her before..."

Roxas, Riku and Lea all paled, and the blonde was the first to speak, as if they were talking about a ghost, almost,

"Naminé? You mean Naminé's been captured too?"

He seemed enraged, all of a sudden, his cheeks regaining a bit of their colour, and Riku shrugged;

"I guess it makes sense,"

Were the words that left his lips,

"If they've got Kairi, they would have captured Naminé too - they're pretty much one, after all."

While it made sense, it only seemed to be making everybody more agitated - not only were their own lives at stake, but others, as well.

"So whadda we do now?"

Beat's instantly recognisable voice rang out in the café, a frown on his lips as he cracked his knuckles, obviously vexed,

"We gots three hostages, and our own lives at stake, right? This is stale, yo."

Some chuckled in familiarity to the words, others were left confused - but, it didn't really matter; it was an inside joke, in a way.

"Perhaps,"

Joshua mused, a slight hum to his tone,

"But I'm sure we can make it if our hearts are connected; right, Sora?"

The brunette blinked in surprise at being called out on so suddenly, but a grin began to blossom on his cheeks as he nodded his head enthusiastically,

"You know it!"

That seemed to lighten the atmosphere as everybody laughed or chuckled - or, in Joshua's case, giggled - but then the tension returned, with a vengeance of sorts;

What were they to do?

"I'm sure we'll be okay!"

Sora grinned, bouncing up and down in his seat with enthusiasm,

"So don't worry so much, you guys!"

"While you might not worry so much, Sora,"

Riku retaliated, a smirk of amusement on his lips,

"The rest of us have to pick up the slack and worry for you."

"Hey!"

Riku enjoyed teasing Sora - he had been doing it since they were little, and he wasn't about to stop now. But, he did pause, his smirk dying down and being replaced with a frown and furrowed eyebrows in confusion;

"Sora..."

"Hmm?"

The brunette didn't seem to have seen anything wrong with his own statement, and neither had anybody else; besides Riku, of course, who decided to speak up about it,

"If they've never mentioned Xion before, how is it that you know she was a girl?"

* * *

Well that's it for this chapter guys! c:  
Although I thought I should let you all know that I may or may not be going on a hiatus soon - just a little warning.  
Whatever stories I have in my drafts already I'll keep posting, but other stories, like this one, that I haven't fully drafted - they'll be put on the backburner until I get my life in order - classes and work and stuff have me busy :/  
So sorry about that lovelies~

-LovingAnime97


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